Weak bottle eliminator



Sept. 21, 1954 T. L. BLANTON 2,689,475

WEAK BOTTLE ELIMINATOR Filed Oct. 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (971.9 671? 76 LVVENYOR.

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ATTORNEYS Sept.

Filed 21, 1954 'r. BLANTON WEAK BOTTLE ELIMINATOR Oct. 10 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 LIZ/11117! II LVVENYOR.

ATTGRNE\ 5 Sept. 21, 1954 T. L. BLANTON 2,589,475

WEAK BOTTLE ELIMINATOR Filed Oct. 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 i "f' .2: f 7 4, 6'3 5:1

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ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 21, 1 954 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE in r 2,689,475

WEAK BOTTLE ELiMiNA'i'Oit T i'uman'L. Blanton, venture, Calif. Application twister 10, 1951, serial No. 250,751

2 Claiins.

invention relates to bottle washing inatlhiiis particularly of typeu ea for washing sari diihk and beer betties ahd in particular an attaenmem for a bottle washing machine Whereby pressure is applied to the interiors of the totties so that weak bottles are exploded or hiol ten before the? reaeh "the filling operation or machine. V

the purpbse bi this mvehtien is to provide iiieafis for eliminating weak bottles uses for soft firinits ahd the like wherein the bottles are elihiihates in the 'tvashing mahine or step and before they item the tilin machine or operatien;

in the conventional ihethoii of fining soft drink Bottles, particularly where carbonated water is the bottles are subjeere-d to internal pressu'e, such as fifty poun s, and wh n a weak settle explodes tue matenai not only lost but is danger of the fine gras working into adflbinihg bottles, Furthermore bottles pr this type often break in transit ens when on display in a storeer the like. Ihsuh instances cleaning up the molten idottles requires *eonsideraible time and threfis da ger of in ury "to the attendant and also to customers. With this thought in min-u this invention eohtempiatese method of ex loding weskpettles before they reach the filling stage hy iproiiir'iiiig an attachfnent in a bottle chine it is not essential to stop the operation of the "w terline s provisions ma be made to take care of the Broken glass and the operatorhas an tppsrtumt to replace the broken bottle before a the setties reaeh the filling sta e.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to

iqivfovide an attachment for bottle washing maehin'es whereby bottles are subjected to a pressure greater than that normally required of the bottles before the bottles reach the filling stage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle testing attachment for bottlewashing ma- "ehinesthat is adapted to be actuated by a moving part of the machine.

Another object or the invention is to provide a Bottle testingettaehment for hottle'washih'g mschines wherein either air or water under pressure iii'ayhe applied to the bottles. I a

A etieet of the invention to provide a bottle washing machine and iiiean's' for aiitiiatmg the beam by a moving part or the machine and also means for su plying air 01 water "sneer pressure through the pressure clips at the time the cups are positioned over the ends of metastases Other features and advantages of the will appear fro-m the renewing deseripubutaiien in Connection with the drawings wherem Figure 1 is an elevational view showing part or a bottle washing 'maehihe in which bottles are placed into a bottle carrying conveyor aha which parts are broken away illustrating the bottle testing attachment of this invention; I Figure '2 is 'a seetional plan through the part or the machine as Shown Figure 1 taken on Iii-1e 2 of Figure I. i

Figure 3 is a vertical section similar to the elevational view of Figural showing the attachment in the position of applying pressure to a some. Figure 4 is a detail showing a view similar to that shown in Figure 3 with th pressure shown in elevation and with a trunk arm oh the near end of the machineomitted.

Figure 5 is a detail shewingme end of the traveling beam with the pin eiite'nded iroih the end of the beam extended through ashes sleek positioned between the slide rails, the said slide block and rails being shown in section.

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 3 of Figure '5 showing the slide rails in elevation and the beam in section. n

Figure 7 is a sectional plan taken on line "I -1 of Figure 6 also showing the slide block in-seetio'n and positioned to travel between the slide rails. Figure 8 isa detail showing the longitudinal section through one of the pressure cups, illustrating the method of sealing the cu over the end of a bottle.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section through the valve by which fluid under pressure isadmitited to the pressure cups. v Figure 10 is a similar view showing the valv in the open position.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference "characters denote-corresponding parts, the improved bottle testing attachment of this 'iIWeh'tiUh includes a plurality of pressure "Clips 0 carried by tubular stems I which are supported in a traveling beam I2, slide blocks I3 and I4 in which the ends of the beam I2 are mounted and which are positioned to slide between slide rails I5 and I6 at one end and I1 and I8 at the other, a link |9 by which the attachment is actuated with a bell crank 20 of the machine and a valve 2| with which fluid under pressure is supplied to the pressure cups at the time the ends of bottles are sealed in the cups.

The pressure cups I are formed, particularly as illustrated in Figure 8, wherein the tubular stems II are threaded in one end of the cups. The opposite ends of the cups are flared outwardly forming a guide flange 23 by which bottle necks 24 are centered in the cups with the openings of the bottle necks positioned to register with openings 25 in gaskets 26 that are positioned against seats 21in the intermediate parts of the cups. The gasket or washer 20 is provided with a sealing flange 28 that fits snugly over the end of a bottle thereby providing a pressure seal.

The traveling beam I2 is substantially channel shape in cross section and the stems |I extend through the beam, being secured in position by collars 29 which are positioned against the outer surface of a plate 30 mounted on the edges of the flanges of the beam.

The outer ends of the stems II are connected to flexible tubes 3| by coupling members 32 and the tubes 3| are connected to nipples 33 of a header 34 by coupling members 35. The header 34 is connected to the valve 2| by a tube 36 which .is secured in a socket 31 of the valve 2| and .31 from which the tube 36 extends.

The valve 2| is provided with a valve stem 46 on which the valve member 41 is positioned and, as shown in Figures 9 and 10 the valve stem extends through a springchamber 48 inwhich the spring 49 is positioned. The spring bears against a closure member 50 in the outer end of the easing 48 and the washer on the stem 46 whereby the valve member is held in the closed position. The spring casing 48 is provided with a threaded tubular neck 52 that is threaded into a socket 53 in the end of the valve 2|.

The traveling beam |2 is provided with pins 54 and 55 which extend through the slide blocks I3 and I4, as illustrated in Figure 5, and on the outer ends of which crank arms 56 and 5'! with elongated slots 60 therein are positioned. The pins 54 and 55 are provided with sealing washers 6| and the slide bars are provided with flanges 62, the flanges being positioned against the ends of the traveling beam,

The slide blocks are positioned to slide between the slide rails I5 and I6 in one end,'and IT and I8 at the other and the slide rails I5 and I6 are provided with stop blocks 63 and 64. The slide rails l1 and I8 are provided with similar stop blocks as indicated by the numerals 65 and 66.

.The slide rails I5 and I6 are attached to a plate 67 of a bottle washing machine with an angle support 68 and the slide rails I1 and I3 are attached to the same plate by an angle support 69. The opposite ends of the slide rails are supported by angle iron struts III which are carried by supports II.

The crank arms 50 and 51 are mounted on a shaft 12 which is journaled in bearings 13 and 14 on end plates I5 and I6 of the bottle washing machine and the extended end of the shaft is provided with an arm 11, the end of which is connected to the link I9 with a bolt 18. The opposite end of the link I9 is attached to the bell crank 20 which is pivotally mounted on a stub shaft I9 of the machine, by a bolt 80.

The link H] is provided with threaded ends with nuts 8| and 82 thereon, whereby the ends of the link are secured in yokes 83 and 84, on the bolts 18 and 80.

The bell crank 20 is also connected to a rod 85 with a bolt 86 and the rod 85, which is adjustably mounted in sockets 81 and 88 is attached to a guide arm 89 on the actuating shaft 90 of the machine by a bolt 9|. The extended end of the rod is provided with a spring 92, one end of which is positioned against the socket 88 and'the other against a collar 93 whereby the rod 85 isresiliently urged upwardly.

The actuating shaft 90 of the machine is actuated by the machine to cause downward movement of the arm 89 which exerts force on the rod 85 to urge it downward against the action of the spring 92. This rod in turn moves bell crank 20 which draws the link I9 backward to move the travelling beam I2. Thus as the bottle washing machine operates to wash the bottles, the travelling beam is moved to force the cups l0 into engagement with the mouth of the bottles.

Th extended end of the valve stem 46 is provided with a projection 94 and the projection is positioned to be engaged by the rod 85 whereby, as illustrated in Figure 3, the valve is opened as the rod 85 moves from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 3. I

The cups I0 are resiliently held outwardly by springs 95 and as the traveling beam I2 is actuated from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 3 by the actuating shaft 30 of the machine the cups extend over the ends of bottles, indicated by the numeral 96, in the bottle carrier 91 whereby the sealing elements 26 and 28 fit snugly over the ends of the bottles providing a sealed connection.

The bottles are retained in position in the carrier by a beam 98. which is preferably T-shaped in cross section, and as the carrier travels upwardly with the bottles the spring guides '99, extended downwardly from the beam 98, urge the bottles toward the cups.

The bottles'are placed in the bottle carrier. 91 from a shelf I08 and the carrier travels on a track formed with angle irons IM and I02 on which the carrier element is held by chains I03 and I04, respectively, the chains being provided with rollers I05.and I06. 7

With the parts arranged in this mannerair, water, or other fluids may readily be applied to bottles of a bottle washing machine and as the pressure is applied to the interior of the bottles weak bottles will explode or break and the broken glass will drop downwardly through the machine without necessarily stopping the machine and without danger of broken glass from the bottles working into other bottles being washed in'the machine.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bottle washing machine attachment, the combination which comprises spaced pairs of parallel tracks mounted in a bottle washing machine, slide blocks slidably mounted in said tracks, a traveling beam positioned between the tracks and journaled in said slide blocks, spaced tubular stems mounted in said traveling beam, pressure cups carried by extended ends of the stems, bottle neck sealing gaskets positioned in said pressure cups, a bottle carrier mounted whereby bottles carried thereby are positioned so that necks thereof are aligned with the pressure cups, means holding bottles in position in said carrier, means actuating the traveling beam with the pressure cups extended therefrom whereby the pressure cups extend over ends of bottles positioned in the carrier, means for resiliently urging said pressure cups to extended position, means supplying fluid under pressure to said bottles through the pressure cups, and said pressure supplying means is actuated by the means actuating the travelling beams.

2. In a weak bottle eliminator for a bottle washing machine having a bottle carrier provided with means for holding bottles therein and an actuating shaft for moving bottles into position to be washed the improvement comprising a pair of paralle1 rails mounted at each side of said machine, a slide block positioned to travel between said parallel rails at each side of the machine, a beam journalled at the ends in said slide blocks, a plurality of pressure cups mounted in said machine and positioned to receive the open ends of bottles mounted in said bottle carrier, an arm connected to the actuating shaft of the machine, a spring biased rod pivotally connected to said arm, a bell crank lever pivotally connected to said rod, a link pivotally connected to said bell crank lever, and a second arm connected to said link and to the said beam for moving said pressure cups into sealing relation with the open ends of the bottles, and means supplying fluid under pressure to said pressure cups for ejection into the open mouths of said bottles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,316,549 Winkley Sept. 16, 1919 2,263,627 Herold Nov. 25, 1941 2,371,128 Costa Mar. 13, 1945 2,551,645 Stadelman May 8, 1951 2,607,361 Gerlach Aug. 19, 1952 

